When Trinh Nguyen asked her mother, Huyen Tran, what she wanted most after years of running the family restaurant, she didn’t ask for travel or rest. “I just want to be in my kitchen,” she told her daughter. That kitchen, inside Pho T & N in Poulsbo, has been her happy place for 20 years, and it remains a gathering spot for families who’ve grown up alongside the Nguyens.

Trinh’s parents, Huyen Tran and Rang Nguyen, came to Seattle in 1998 after spending seven years at a refugee camp in Thailand, where their youngest son, Thai, was born. The couple continued to raise their four children, Joe, Trinh, Linda, and Thai, while working in Rainier Valley restaurants and learning the business from the inside out. In 2001, they moved to Poulsbo to help a friend expand his pho program, and a few years later decided it was time to open a place of their own.

Trinh was 19 when the doors opened. Just two weeks shy of leaving for college, she learned that her parents were ready to launch the restaurant and needed her help. Because her parents spoke limited English, Trinh handled nearly everything from the lease to the signage and the menu while her parents took charge of the kitchen. Her brother Joe was serving in the Marines at the time, and the plan was for her to stay until he returned.

Joe’s service ended the following year, and what began as a short-term plan turned into a lifelong commitment. “Sometimes life takes turns,” he says. “You don’t always get a choice.”

The restaurant’s first day left a lasting impression on Trinh. The former owners introduced the Nguyens to customers who weren’t sure what to expect from a new family, and some were hesitant to order. Trinh, who was almost 20 but says she looked closer to 12, told them that if they didn’t like the food, the meal would be on the house. They stayed, and came back the next day.

That early determination helped build the foundation of what Pho T & N would become: a trusted neighborhood restaurant. It’s a place where people bring their kids after soccer games, celebrate birthdays, or just sit over steaming bowls of pho after a long day. The family’s warmth and tireless work ethic quickly won over locals, and Joe’s easy rapport with guests deepened those relationships. He has a gift for remembering faces, names, and orders—a trait Trinh says he got from their father. “Sometimes I joke that our customers are like extended family,” Joe says. “We’ve celebrated their milestones, but we’ve also been there for their grief. It’s special to share so much of life with the same people over so many years.”

Even through long days and family health challenges, the restaurant has stayed open almost every day. Trinh says her mother believes the key to business is consistency: if the sign says they’re open until nine, they stay open until nine. Over the years, Pho T & N has closed only a few times, including one stretch for Joe’s wedding. Trinh remembers posting a big banner that read, We’re closing from this day to this day. Blame Joe. Customers took it in stride, joking that they’d just have to survive nine days without their favorite pho.

Joe Nguyen at Pho T & N.

Photo courtesy of Pho T & N

That kind of connection with the community has become the heart of the restaurant. “It was never the intention. Everything happened really organically in a way,” Trinh says. “It was our parents’ dream, and it became part of our lives. Then our kids came along, and it became part of theirs. We’re just members of the community running this business.”

Trinh often reflects on her mother’s form of encouragement—one rooted in love and caution. “In our culture, it’s not really about saying, ‘You’re so good, go do it,’” she says. “It’s more like, ‘Are you sure? It’s too hard. Don’t do it.’ That’s love. It’s them protecting us, giving us the best of what they worked for.”

Rang and Huyen officially retired in 2018 due to health reasons, passing the restaurant fully to their children. Joe continues to run Pho T & N with the same care and precision their parents taught them. Trinh, who later earned her BA, and Thai have both attended culinary school and have gone on to open Ba Sa on Bainbridge Island in 2019 and Ramie on Capitol Hill last year, both modern takes on Vietnamese cuisine. Their sister Linda manages Ba Sa’s daily operations.

The family behind T & N celebrates 20 years in Poulsbo.

Photo courtesy of Pho T & N

As Pho T & N turns 20, the family plans to celebrate the way they always have—by feeding their community. The restaurant officially opened on Oct. 25, 2005, and this year, on Saturday, Oct. 25, they’ll mark the milestone with an all-day anniversary event from 10:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. The celebration will feature a Lion Dance by Mak Fai Kung Fu at 1:30 p.m., a family toast at 2 p.m., and photo opportunities with all four siblings and their parents from 2:30-5 p.m.

The day will also include a flashback menu with prices straight out of 2005: pho with steak, brisket, chicken, or tofu for $5.99; stir-fried noodles with chicken, pork, beef, or tofu for $7.25; vermicelli bowls with egg rolls and chicken, beef, or pork for $7.49; special fried rice with chicken, pork, Chinese sausage, and shrimp for $7.95; egg rolls for $1.99 each; and bubble tea (with 17 flavor options) for $3.50.

Through it all, the family’s gratitude for Poulsbo has only deepened. “I’m just grateful that we get to be part of this community,” Trinh says. “It’s such a beautiful journey to share memories with our guests, our staff, and everyone who’s come through our doors.”